Fable

by Doug DeVita

FULL LENGTH, 63 pages. For sample pages or information about licensing / purchase visit Next Stage Press:https://www.nextstagepress.com/fable/

SEMI-FINALIST, Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference 2021
One of the Top Ten plays on Ken Davenport's "Producer's Pick List," 2019.

“I think it is absolutely brilliant. It was fascinating to me because of course I was a part of it, but it was the appeal that 'Gypsy" has...

FULL LENGTH, 63 pages. For sample pages or information about licensing / purchase visit Next Stage Press:https://www.nextstagepress.com/fable/

SEMI-FINALIST, Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference 2021
One of the Top Ten plays on Ken Davenport's "Producer's Pick List," 2019.

“I think it is absolutely brilliant. It was fascinating to me because of course I was a part of it, but it was the appeal that 'Gypsy" has that [Doug] capitalized on and brought forth in a very delicious way.”
– Lane Bradbury, Dainty June in Gypsy, 1959

Who has the right to tell your story? Especially when it's the same story told from the differing memories of two legendary show business siblings? And one sister's version is about to become a big, Broadway musical that is also destined to become legendary? June Havoc was famously ambivalent about the show Gypsy, which her sister, the burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, referred to as her legacy. And in Fable, which is itself a fable about the creation of that musical fable, the sisters' loyalty to each other is tested in a mounting battle that takes place in rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, onstage, backstage, and all in the memory of the aging Ms. Havoc as she faces her imminent death, still battling with fiction and truth in order to keep her own legacy alive.

Developed at ESPA/Primary Stages (with Rogelio Martinez), Davenport Playwrights Workshop (with Eric Webb), and in workshops with playwright Karen Hartman.

read more
  • Inquire About Rights
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

Fable

Recommended by

  • Greg Burdick: Fable by Doug DeVita
    “

    I recently had the privilege of seeing freeFall Theatre’s stunning production of FABLE in St. Petersburg, FL. DeVita’s intimate familiarity with the long-standing sibling struggle of sisters June Havoc and “Gypsy Rose Lee” is plainly apparent in this mesmerizing homage. Seeing June at three key stages of her life: bright eyed child prodigy, shrewd negotiator and holdout, and then remorseful and bitter aging performer eclipsed by stolen stardom, is exploited beautifully in this charging drama.

    I recently had the privilege of seeing freeFall Theatre’s stunning production of FABLE in St. Petersburg, FL. DeVita’s intimate familiarity with the long-standing sibling struggle of sisters June Havoc and “Gypsy Rose Lee” is plainly apparent in this mesmerizing homage. Seeing June at three key stages of her life: bright eyed child prodigy, shrewd negotiator and holdout, and then remorseful and bitter aging performer eclipsed by stolen stardom, is exploited beautifully in this charging drama.

    ”
  • Tom Rowan: Fable by Doug DeVita
    “

    It takes confidence to write dialogue for iconic figures from theatre history like Merman, Robbins, and Laurents; DeVita pulls it off with grace and an insider's savvy. The achievement here is that he corrects some of the musical's misrepresentations of Havoc's story while still celebrating its legendary power. All done with great ingenuity and economy; a cast of just seven manages to evoke the bustle and grandeur of 1959 Broadway.

    It takes confidence to write dialogue for iconic figures from theatre history like Merman, Robbins, and Laurents; DeVita pulls it off with grace and an insider's savvy. The achievement here is that he corrects some of the musical's misrepresentations of Havoc's story while still celebrating its legendary power. All done with great ingenuity and economy; a cast of just seven manages to evoke the bustle and grandeur of 1959 Broadway.

    ”
  • Emma Goldman-Sherman: Fable by Doug DeVita
    “

    A stunning and beautifully told homage to June and also to Gypsy, Rose, Ethel, and Arthur and Jerry, to Broadway, the old days, the bright lights and the dreams, Fable is also a wise-cracking, rib-splitting, tough-as-nails tour-de-force with great roles for women. I would love to see this staged. What is it about us humans that makes us want to be able to control our own narratives? Wonderful work that I highly recommend.

    A stunning and beautifully told homage to June and also to Gypsy, Rose, Ethel, and Arthur and Jerry, to Broadway, the old days, the bright lights and the dreams, Fable is also a wise-cracking, rib-splitting, tough-as-nails tour-de-force with great roles for women. I would love to see this staged. What is it about us humans that makes us want to be able to control our own narratives? Wonderful work that I highly recommend.

    ”
View all 52 recommendations

Development History

  • Reading, Genesis Rep / Soar Productions, 2022
  • Reading, Soar Productions LLC, 2020
  • Workshop, Davenport Theatrical / Playwrighting Workshop with Eric Webb, 2019
  • Workshop, ESPA / Primary Stages Class with Rogelio Martinez, 2017
  • Workshop, Writers Workshop with Karen Hartman, 2014

Production History

  • Professional, freeFall Theatre, St. Petersburg FL, 2024

Awards

  • Semi Finalist
    Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference
    2021
  • Producer's Pick List, Top Ten Play
    Davenport Theatrical
    2019